Commuters on the Delhi-Meerut corridor will get a faster ride from Monday, with the National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC) introducing eight additional limited-stop Namo Bharat services during morning and evening peak hours. The fast trains will cover Anand Vihar to Ghaziabad in just eight minutes.
Fast train timings and stops
The limited-stop services will halt at only five stations on the corridor – Sarai Kale Khan, Anand Vihar, Ghaziabad, Begumpul and Modipuram – skipping intermediate stops to cut journey times, NCRTC said. Anand Vihar to Begumpul will take 36 minutes and Ghaziabad to Begumpul 28 minutes, with the entire corridor covered in under 50 minutes.
During the morning peak, two trains in each direction will depart from Sarai Kale Khan and Modipuram at 8 am and 8.30 am. In the evening, the additional services will leave both terminal stations at 6 pm and 6.30 pm. Regular Namo Bharat trains will continue to run every 10 minutes alongside the fast services.
Who benefits
The faster trains are aimed at office-goers and students travelling during rush hours, and at encouraging commuters to shift to public transport amid rising air pollution and road congestion in the region, NCRTC said. Passengers have been advised to check station display boards and platform announcements to distinguish between fast and regular services before boarding.
Ridership on the corridor
The Delhi-Meerut corridor currently records around 1.1 lakh daily commuters and has crossed five crore passenger journeys since operations began. Over the past three months, the system has registered an average monthly ridership of more than 32 lakh, according to NCRTC.
Sources: PTI (via CNBC-TV18) and Zee Business, both citing NCRTC. Circle of News has not independently reviewed the NCRTC announcement.
